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Phosphorescent Cypress

#32dfa9
Notes

Phosphorescent Cypress (#32DFA9) is a true teal with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (161°, 73%, 54%) places it in the balanced band at a mid lightness. It works across type, buttons, and borders, saturated enough to feel deliberate but balanced enough to not fight the rest of the palette. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary red. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#32dfa9
RGB
rgb(50, 223, 169)
HSL
hsl(161, 73%, 54%)
HWB
hwb(161 20% 13%)
OKLCH
oklch(80.7% 0.156 166.3)
HSV
hsv(161, 78%, 87%)
LAB
lab(79.79% -54.99 14.48)
LCH
lch(79.79% 56.87 165.25)
CMYK
cmyk(78%, 0%, 24%, 13%)

Etymology

Phosphorescent
adjective

Greek phōsphóros, light-bringer — adjectival suffix -escent. As a color modifier, phosphorescent implies a saturated-and-cool-glow-after-stimulation quality, the bright cool-green-blue color of Cu-doped-ZnS glow-in-the-dark photoluminescent surfaces. Sits at the bright-and-cool end of the grid, parallel to fluorescent and luminous in usage.

Cypress
noun

The genus Cupressus, the slender Mediterranean conifers that frame Italian villa gardens and Greek cemeteries. The color refers to the dark scaled foliage of Cupressus sempervirens: a deep, slightly blue-green with the matte finish of resin-coated scale leaves. Darker than juniper, cooler than spruce, with the architectural weight of a tree shape that says Tuscany or funerary depending on context.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

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Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#32dfa9
Original
#dacfa6
Protanopia
#c5bfad
Deuteranopia
#00e0d0
Tritanopia
#b6b6b6
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
Failon White
1.71:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon Black
12.26:1

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